First $1,000 NLHE Event at 2011 WSOP Attracts 4,178 Players
When this author was asked if any $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament during the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) would eclipse the record field of 6,012 players that turned out for a “Stimulus Special” event two years ago, my instinctive answer was “Yes.” Given Black Friday and the inability of U.S. players to compete as usual online, it seemed only a matter of time until a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em surpassed 2009’s record.
On Saturday, the first of five open $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournaments (Event #8) kicked off inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. A venerable group of online poker players turned out and, when the smoke cleared, the field size numbered 4,178, about on par with last year’s opening $1,000 tournament, which attracted 4,345 players.
After two starting days, Charles Sewell leads the way with a stack of 137,350. He’s the only player to cross into six-figures and is well ahead of the second place tally of 99,200 belonging to PocketFives.com staple Jon PearlJammer Turner (pictured). A total of 624 entrants remain, with Day 2 kicking off from the Nevada desert this afternoon at 2:30pm PT.
Turner briefly cracked 100,000 in chips in a hand in which the online poker player called a raise pre-flop to see the first three cards come K-8-4. An opponent pushed out a bet of 2,500, Turner called, and then turn was a five. His opponent bet 4,500 and Turner came along to see a queen on the river. Both players checked when the lady hit and Turner rolled over A-Q, which was good enough to scoop the pot and increase his stack.
The field on Day 1B on Sunday included poker pros like PartyPoker‘s Kara Scott, Poker Hall of Fame nominee Men “The Master” Nguyen, actress Jennifer Tilly, World Poker Tour Championship winner David Chiu, Full Tilt Poker‘s Nenad Medic, and Marc Karam, who made back-to-back final tables at the European Poker Tour’s Grand Final.
Also in the crowd was Phil USCphildo Collins (pictured), who had his opponent all-in on a board of J-7-7-A-J. His adversary showed pocket sixes, meaning that he was playing the board, while Collins flipped up pocket kings to scoop the pot and trim the field ever so slightly. Collins finished the day with a stack of 45,875.
Tim Tmay420 West was eliminated from Event #8 when his pocket queens could not outrace A-K. West’s foe found a king on the flop and, despite West picking up a straight draw, no help came on the turn or river. West already has one cash at the 2011 WSOP, a $22,000 haul in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event (#4).
Finding success on Day 1B of the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament was former WSOP Europe Main Event champion Annette Annette_15 Obrestad (pictured). On a board of Q-10-6-6-K, her opponent pushed out a pot-sized bet and Obrestad called, showing A-K. Her opponent pushed his cards into the muck and Obrestad bagged up 38,100 in chips on Sunday to see Day 2 this afternoon.
Also participating in the $1,000 event today will be Jordan Jymaster0011Young, who posted on our WSOP Twitter page, “Made Day 2 of the $1K with 20K going back to 4/8/100 starting at 2:30pm. Playing $1,500 6max at Noon, wearing running shoes I guess.”
Earlier in the day, Young, the fourth player in the PocketFives.com Rankings, observed, “Never seen one guy Hollywood more times in one day. Same shit every hand: I raise, he acts like he has life or death decision, then he folds.”
Here are the top 10 chip stacks after Days 1A and 1B in the first of five $1,000 No Limit Hold’em events at the 2011 WSOP:
1. Charles Sewell – 137,350
2. Jon PearlJammerTurner – 99,200
3. John Droutsas – 90,602
4. Albert Kim – 74,675
5. Amar Tiwari – 73,825
6. Jason JAKoon1985 Koon – 73,075
7. John johne147 Eames – 70,250
8. Michael Malm – 65,975
9. Adam Lippert – 63,200
10. Hunter the_Hunt_D Frey – 61,200
Elsewhere in the Rio, Harrison Wilder took down a $1,500 Limit Hold’em event (#6) for $205,000. Wilder, who hails from Oregon, bested California’s Thomas Jamieson heads-up and the top 63 players landed in the money.
Of particular note in this event was the presence of two-time bracelet winner Scott BigRiskky Clements (pictured) at the final table. Clements already has one cash at the 2011 WSOP, an $8,200 haul for taking 21st in a $1,500 Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better tournament. Here’s how the final table cashed out on Sunday in Event #6:
1. Harrison Wilder – 205,065
2. Thomas Jamieson – 126,654
3. John Myung – 89,840
4. William Davis – 64,625
5. Matthew Elsby – 47,138
6. Sean Nguyen – 34,864
7. Craig Laben – 26,134
8. Mitch mitchman1114 Schock – 19,856
9. Scott BigRiskkyClements – 15,281
Stay tuned to PocketFives.com for the latest WSOP coverage of online poker players. Also, be sure to check out our WSOP Tweets page to see what the community is buzzing about.
